Charging vehicles in a parking area

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for charging vehicles in a parking area are described. In one embodiment, a charge request may be received for a vehicle located in a parking area. The vehicle may have a power connection with a power source. An electric charge is provided through the power connection from the power source to the vehicle based on receiving the charge request. Payment is recorded for providing the electric charge based upon departure of the vehicle from the parking area. Additional methods and systems are disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to methods and systems for charging electricvehicles and, more specifically, to methods and systems for chargingelectric vehicles in a public parking area.

BACKGROUND

An electric vehicle may have a limited range based on the amount ofelectric charge contained in its battery. The battery for the electricvehicle is typically charged at the home of a user of the electricvehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for charging a vehicle in aparking area, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a power subsystem that may be deployedwithin the system of FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a payment processing subsystem that may bedeployed within the system of FIG. 1, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing power,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for payment processing,according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a machine in an exemplary form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed hereinmay be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes illustrative structures, methods,materials, and techniques that embody the present disclosure. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth to provide an understanding of various embodimentsof the inventive subject matter. It will be evident, however, to thoseskilled in the art that embodiments of the inventive subject matter maybe practiced without these specific details. Further, independentlywell-known structures, methods, materials, protocols, and techniqueshave not been shown in detail.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in an inclusive orexclusive sense. Similarly, the term “exemplary” may be construed merelyto mean an example of something or an exemplar and not necessarily apreferred means of accomplishing a goal. Additionally, although variousexemplary embodiments discussed below focus on various embodimentsrelated to charging electric vehicles in a parking area, the embodimentsare merely given for clarity in disclosure. Thus, any type of relatedelectrical charging system for vehicles, in general, is considered asbeing within a scope of the present disclosure.

Thus, exemplary methods and systems for charging vehicles in a parkingarea are generally described herein. In the following description, forpurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments.It will be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, thatembodiments of the present invention may be practiced without thesespecific details.

Electronic cars and other electric or hybrid vehicles may receive anelectric charge while in a parking space in a parking lot. A user of avehicle is assessed a fee when the vehicle departs from the parking lot.Payment of the fee is made through an energy account of the user.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 in which a vehicle 102 in aparking area (e.g., a parking lot) is powered by an energy station 106.The vehicle 102 may be an electric vehicle, a hybrid motor vehicle, anelectric bicycle, an electric motorcycle, a hybrid motorcycle, anelectric golf cart, a hybrid golf cart, or the like. The vehicle may beany alternative non-gasoline vehicle. The energy station 106 may providean electric charge through a power connection from a power source 108 tothe vehicle 102. The energy is received by the power source 108 fromsolar panels, from burning natural gas, from burning coal, through theuse of wind turbines, or the like.

The parking area may be an area which is not adjacent to a dwelling ofthe user of the vehicle 102 where the user may seek a charge for thevehicle 102. For example, the parking area may be at a place ofemployment of the user, at a place of amusement (e.g., a sportingvenue), or the like.

A payment station 110 or a provider 112 is used to process payments forproviding an electric charge to the vehicle 102. The payment isprocessed by adjusting a value of an energy account, receiving a portionof the amount due from funds associated with a pre-paid card, orotherwise is received. The energy station 106 and the payment station110 may be separate devices or integrated into a unitary device. Theprovider 112 may operate on a computer system maintained or controlledby a business entity. The business entity may maintain control overmultiple payment stations 110, may manage a parking lot in which thevehicle 102 is located, or otherwise is associated with the provider112.

A network 104 over which the energy station 106, the payment station110, or the provider 112 communicate, may include a Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) network, an Internet Protocol (IP) network,a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, or anIEEE 802.11 standards-based network, as well as various combinationsthereof. Other conventional or later developed wired and wirelessnetworks may also be used.

The provider 112 may also be in communication with a database 118. Thedatabase 118 stores user data 120 which may include informationregarding users of the provider 112.

A power subsystem 114 is deployed in the energy station 106. The powersubsystem 114 establishes a power connection with the vehicle 102located in a parking area, receive a charge request for the vehicle 102,provide an electric charge through the power connection from the powersource 108 to the vehicle 102 based on receiving the charge request, andrecord payment for providing the electric charge based upon departure ofthe vehicle 102 from the parking area.

A payment processing subsystem 116 is deployed in the payment station110 or the provider 112. The payment processing subsystem 116establishes an energy account for a user, associates an energy accountidentifier with the energy account, receives a payment request forproviding an electric charge to the vehicle 102, and adjusts a value ofthe energy account based on receiving the charge request.

In an exemplary embodiment, the vehicle 102 provides power back to theenergy station 106. The return of the power may provide a user of thevehicle 102 with credits. For example, a threshold amount of power maybe left with the vehicle 102 to enable to the vehicle 102 to return to auser's home.

In an exemplary embodiment, the payment station 110 may include acommunicator instead of, or in addition to, a display to provideinformation to a portable or other type of device associated with theuser of the vehicle 102. For example, information regarding the paymentis provided via radio frequency (RF) to the portable device of the user.

With reference to FIG. 2, and continuing reference to FIG. 1, anexemplary embodiment of the power subsystem 114 deployed within theenergy station 106 of the system 100 is illustrated. The power subsystem114 may include an energy storage module 202, a power connectionverification module 204, a charge request receiver module 206, anelectric charge provider module 208, an amount due determination module210, a payment request provider module 212, a presence verificationmodule 214, a payment account identifier receiver module 216, a portionreceiver module 218, a portion credit module 220, a billing assessmentsubmission module 222, an energy credit receiver module 224, and apayment recordation module 226. Other modules may also be included.

To provide power to the vehicle 102, in some embodiments, energy isstored at the power source 108 (FIG. 1) by the energy storage module202. The energy is received from solar panels, from burning natural gas,from burning coal, through the use of wind turbines, or the like, eachknown independently in the art.

Once a power connection is made to the vehicle 102, in some embodimentsverification that the power connection has been made with the vehicle102 located in a parking area is made by the power connectionverification module 204.

A charge request for the vehicle 102 is then received by the chargerequest receiver module 206. The request is made based on the connectionof the vehicle 102 to the power source 108, by a user through a userinterface at the payment station 110, the power source 108, or otherwiseis made. An electric charge is then provided through the powerconnection from the power source 108 to the vehicle 102 by the electriccharge provider module 208.

An amount due for providing the electric charge is determined by theamount due determination module 210. A payment request for the amountdue may be provided to the operator of the vehicle 102 by the paymentrequest provider module 212.

In some embodiments, verification of the presence of a user associatedwith the vehicle 102 (e.g., an operation) at a particular location ismade by the presence verification module 214. In some embodiments, apayment account identifier is received by the payment account identifierreceiver module 216 from the user associated with the vehicle 102. Thepresence verification module 214, the payment account identifierreceiver module 216, or both, may in some embodiments be used for makingpayment.

A portion of the amount due may be received by the portion receivermodule 218 the user associated with the vehicle 102 from fundsassociated with a pre-paid card, or both. A portion of the amount due toan entity associated with the parking area may be credited by theportion credit module 220.

In some embodiments, a billing assessment for the payment accountidentifier is submitted and a response to the submission of the billingassessment is received by the billing assessment submission module 222.In some embodiments, when a pre-paid energy card is used, an energycredit associated with the pre-paid energy card is received by theenergy credit receiver module 224.

Payment for providing the electric charge based upon departure of thevehicle 102 from the parking area is recorded by the payment recordationmodule 226. The recordation of the payment is based on the amount due,receipt of the payment account identifier, receipt of the portion,receipt of the funds, credit of the portion, receipt of the response,receipt of the energy credit, or verification the presence.

Referring now to FIG. 3, and with continuing reference to FIG. 1, anexemplary payment processing subsystem 116 is illustrated that may bedeployed in the payment station 110 or the provider 112 of the system100 or otherwise deployed in another system. The payment processingsubsystem 116 may include an energy account establishment module 302, anaccount identifier association module 304, an energy card associationmodule 306, a payment request receiver module 308, a verification module310, a funds receiver module 312, a value adjustment module 314, or avalue storage module 316. In various exemplary embodiments, the modulesmay be distributed so that some of the modules may be deployed in thepayment station 110 and some of the modules may be deployed in theprovider 112.

Other modules may also be included. By way of example and with referenceagain to FIG. 2, the amount due determination module 210, the paymentaccount identifier receiver module 216, the portion receiver module 218,the portion credit module 220, the billing assessment submission module222, the energy credit receiver module 224, or the payment recordationmodule 226 may be included in the payment processing subsystem 116.

Referring again to FIG. 3, an energy account is established for theoperator of the vehicle 102 by an energy account establishment module302. Once the energy account is established, an account identifierassociation module 304 associates an energy account identifier with theenergy account. An energy card may be associated with the energy accountidentifier by the energy card association module 306.

To pay for an electric charge provided to the vehicle 102, a paymentrequest is received by a payment request receiver module 308. In someembodiments, the payment request includes the energy account identifier.Verification that the energy account is associated with the vehicle 102is performed by a verification module 310. Funds for the energy accountare received by a funds receiver module 312.

Value adjustments to the value of the energy account based on receivingthe charge request, receiving the funds, a vehicle type of the vehicle102, or a power basis of the vehicle 102, is performed by a valueadjustment module 314. The value of the energy account is then stored onthe energy card by a value storage module 316.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for providing power, according to anexemplary embodiment. The method 400 is performed by the energy station106 of the system 100 (see FIG. 1), or may otherwise be performed.

In some embodiments, to provide energy at the energy station 106, energyis first stored at the power source 108 at operation 402. In anexemplary embodiment, the stored energy is received from solar panels.In another exemplary embodiment, the stored energy is received fromburning natural gas. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the storedenergy is received from burning coal. In still another exemplaryembodiment, the stored energy is received through the use of windturbines.

When an operator of the vehicle 102 seeks to receive a charge, a powerconnection is established between the vehicle 102 and the energy stationlocated in a parking area at operation 404. The vehicle 102 can be anelectric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, an electric bicycle, an electricmotorcycle, a hybrid motorcycle, an electric golf cart, a hybrid golfcart, or the like. The power connection is established with the vehicle102 located in a parking space among one or more parking spaces in theparking area. In an exemplary embodiment, the power connection isestablished through a Tesla tip (known independently in the art andstandardized under American National Standards Institute (ANSI)). Inanother exemplary embodiment, the power connection is establishedthrough a different type of tip that is capable of providing power.

A charge request for the vehicle 102 is then received at operation 406to charge the vehicle. The charge request may include a payment amount,charge duration, charge start time, charge finish time, voltage, or thelike. After receiving the charge request, an electric charge is providedthrough the power connection from the power source 108 to the vehicle102 at operation 408.

An amount due for providing the electric charge may be determined atoperation 410. In one embodiment, a portion of the amount due isreceived from a user associated with the vehicle 102 (e.g., anoperator). The portion is either an entire portion or a partial portion.

In another embodiment, a portion of the amount due at operation 410 isreceived from funds associated with a pre-paid card. The pre-paid cardmay be, by way of example, a pre-paid credit card, a pre-paid debitcard, or the like. The portion may be received at the energy station106, a payment station, or the like.

In one embodiment, a payment account identifier is received from a userassociated with the vehicle 102, a billing assessment for the paymentaccount identifier is submitted (e.g., to the user), and a response tothe submission of the assessment is received. The response typicallyincludes payment, a payment source, or the like. In yet anotherembodiment, energy credit associated with a pre-paid energy card isreceived for payment. In some embodiments, a payment request for theamount due is provided to an operator of the vehicle 102 duringoperation 410.

At operation 412, payment for providing the electric charge is recorded.The recordation may include directly recording the payment, sendingnotice to the provider 112 to record the payment, or both.

In one embodiment, departure notification that the vehicle 102 isdeparting the parking area is received and payment for providing theelectric charge is then recorded. In one embodiment, the departurenotification is provided in the form of an entrance/exit ticket by theoperator of the vehicle 102 to the operator of the parking lot.

In another embodiment, the departure of the vehicle 102 from the parkingarea is detected and the payment for the providing of the electriccharge is recorded. The departure is detected based on, for example, aradio-frequency identification (RFID) card, another type of card with anidentifier, or the like.

In another embodiment, a portion of the amount due from an entityassociated with the parking area is credited. The credit may be based onthe user's activity. For example, the user may have made a purchase inthe store of the entity, visited a store of the entity, or the like. Thecredit may then offset the amount due determined during the operation410 and for which payment is recorded at operation 412.

In another embodiment, presence of a user associated with the vehicle102 at a particular location is verified. In one embodiment, thepresence is verified by mobile phone. In another embodiment, thepresence is verified by RFID. The payment is then recorded based on thepresence of the user.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for payment processing, according to anexemplary embodiment. The method 500 may be performed by the paymentstation 110 or the provider 112 associated with the system 100 (see FIG.1).

An energy account is established for a user at operation 502. The energyaccount is a balance account (e.g., a stored value account) or a creditaccount, or combinations thereof. At operation 504, an energy accountidentifier is associated with the energy account.

An energy card may be associated with the energy account identifier atoperation 506. At operation 508, a payment request is received forproviding an electric charge to the vehicle 102. In some embodiments,the payment request includes the energy account identifier.

Verification that the energy account is associated with the vehicle 102is performed at operation 510. In some embodiments, funds are receivedfor the energy account at operation 512.

At operation 514, a value of the energy account is adjusted. The valuemay be adjusted based a number of facts including receipt the chargerequest, receipt of the funds, a vehicle type of the vehicle, or a powerbasis of the vehicle. The value may be a stored value on the card,stored in the database 118 (FIG. 1), or both.

In some embodiments, the adjustment of the value based on vehicle typeenables different types (e.g., make, model, or brand) of the vehicle 102to be assessed at different rates. In other embodiments, the adjustmentof the value based on the power basis may enable a different assessmentbased on, for example, the number of amps per hour or the number ofvolts per hour.

The value of the energy account, in some embodiments is stored on theenergy card at operation 516. When stored value is used, the value ofthe energy account is adjusted by the value adjustment performed atoperation 514.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a machine in an exemplary form of acomputer system 600 within which a set of instructions may be executedcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methods,processes, operations, or methodologies discussed herein. The provider112 (see FIG. 1) may operate on one or more versions of the computersystem 600. The payment station 110 or the energy station 106 mayinclude the functionality of the one or more versions of the computersystem 600.

In an exemplary embodiment, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switchor bridge, a kiosk, a point of sale (POS) device, a cash register, anAutomated Teller Machine (ATM), or any machine capable of executing aset of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to betaken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The exemplary computer system 600 includes a processor 602 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate with eachother via a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further include a videodisplay unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). The computer system 600 also includes an alphanumeric inputdevice 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 614 (e.g., amouse), a drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., aspeaker), and a network interface device 620.

The drive unit 616 includes a machine-readable medium 622 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions 624 (e.g., software, firmware,or hardware-based) embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 624 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604 or withinthe processor 602 during execution thereof by the computer system 600,the main memory 604 and the processor 602 also constitutingmachine-readable media. The instructions 624 may further be transmittedor received over a network 626 via the network interface device 620.

While the machine-readable medium 622 is shown in an exemplaryembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium thatis capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution bythe machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, and optical media, and magnetic media.

Certain systems, apparatus, applications, or processes are describedherein as including a number of modules. A module may be a unit ofdistinct functionality that may be presented in software, hardware, orcombinations thereof. When the functionality of a module is performed inany part through software, the module can include a machine readablemedium. The modules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled.

The inventive subject matter described herein may be represented in avariety of different embodiments of which there are many possiblepermutations. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, a charge requestmay be received for a vehicle located in a parking area. The vehicle mayhave a power connection with a power source. An electric charge isprovided through the power connection from the power source to thevehicle based on receiving the charge request. Payment is recorded forproviding the electric charge based upon departure of the vehicle fromthe parking area.

In another exemplary embodiment, an energy account may be establishedfor a user. An energy account identifier may be associated with theenergy account. A payment request may be received for providing energyto a vehicle. The payment request may include the energy accountidentifier. Verification that the energy account is associated with thevehicle is performed. A value of the energy account may be adjustedbased on receiving the charge request.

Thus, methods and systems for charging vehicles in a parking area havebeen described. Although embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will beevident that various modifications and changes may be made to theseembodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of thevarious embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the specification anddrawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

It should be noted that the methods described herein do not have to beexecuted in the order described, or in any particular order. Moreover,various activities described with respect to the methods identifiedherein can be executed in serial or parallel fashion. Further, it willbe understood that although “End” blocks are shown in the flowcharts,the methods may be performed continuously.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that variousfeatures are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may lie inless than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

1. A method comprising: using one or more processors to perform at leastsome portion of the following: establishing an energy account associatedwith a user; associating an energy account identifier with the energyaccount; receiving a payment request to provide an electric charge to avehicle, the payment request including the energy account identifier;verifying that the energy account is associated with the vehicle; andadjusting a value of the energy account based on the receiving of thepayment request to provide the electric charge, on the verifying thatthe energy account is associated with the vehicle, and on a power basisof the vehicle, the adjustment on the power basis enabling a differentassessment of value based on the power basis of the vehicle.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving funds for the energyaccount, wherein the adjusting of the energy account is based on thereceiving of the payment request to provide the electric charge, theverifying, and the receiving of the funds.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising associating an energy card with the energy accountidentifier.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing thevalue of the energy account on an energy card.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the adjusting of the value comprises adjusting the value of theenergy account based on the receiving of the payment request to providethe electric charge, the verifying, and a vehicle type of the vehicle.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy account is a balanceaccount, a credit account, or combinations thereof.
 7. A methodcomprising: using one or more processors to perform at least someportion of the following: establishing an energy account associated witha user; associating an energy account identifier with the energyaccount; receiving a payment request to provide an electric charge to avehicle, the payment request including the energy account identifier;verifying that the energy account is associated with the vehicle; andadjusting a value of the energy account based on a power basis of thevehicle, the adjustment on the power basis enabling a differentassessment of value based on the power basis of the vehicle.
 8. Amachine-readable storage device having embedded therein a set ofinstructions which, when executed by a machine, causes execution of thefollowing operations: establishing an energy account associated with auser; associating an energy account identifier with the energy account;receiving a payment request to provide an electric charge to a vehicle,the payment request including the energy account identifier; verifyingthat the energy account is associated with the vehicle; and adjusting avalue of the energy account based on a power basis of the vehicle, theadjustment on the power basis enabling a different assessment of valuebased on the power basis of the vehicle.
 9. The machine-readable storagedevice of claim 8, the operations further comprising receiving funds forthe energy account, wherein the adjusting of the energy account is basedon the receiving of the payment request to provide the electric charge,the verifying, and the receiving of the funds.
 10. The machine-readablestorage device of claim 8, the operations further comprising associatingan energy card with the energy account identifier.
 11. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 8, the operations furthercomprising storing the value of the energy account on an energy card.12. The machine-readable storage device of claim 8, wherein theadjusting of the value comprises adjusting the value of the energyaccount based on the receiving of the payment request to provide theelectric charge, the verifying, and a vehicle type of the vehicle. 13.The machine-readable storage device of claim 8, wherein the energyaccount is a balance account, a credit account, or combinations thereof.